Court hears that 21-year-old GAA player had his scrotum ripped open during match

Shane Ryan, a young GAA player, suffered an horrific injury when his scrotum was torn open during a minor match three years ago
Photo by: Irish Sun

Shane Ryan, a young GAA player, suffered an horrific injury when his scrotum was torn open during a minor match three years ago, an Irish court heard this week.

According to The Star, Darren Morgan, 21, from Kells, County Meath pleaded not guilty to assault causing harm to Shane Ryan at Skryne GAA grounds in Dunshaughlin, County Meath, on September 25, 2009.

'I was screaming in pain and my shorts were covered in blood,' Ryan told the court.

The accused was playing for Round Towers of Kells while the victim was playing for St. Vincent’s, Curraha, in the semi-final of the minor county championship at the time the incident occurred.

Ryan told the court there had been a bad challenge by one of his teammates shortly after the start of the game and Morgan had come through an ensuing scuffle and knocked him to the ground.

Later the defendant reportedly made a groin-grabbing gesture to the player who was marking Ryan, but that player had shook his head, the court was told. Ryan later scored a goal and after this he was assaulted by the defendant, the court heard.

'He came up and squared up to me as if he was going to headbutt me but instead he grabbed my testicles, squeezed and pulled,' Ryan told the court.

'He laughed at me. I looked into my shorts and there was no scrotum there. I went down on my hunkers and he went back into his full-back position,' he said.

The court heard Ryan was taken by ambulance to Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan where his wound was stitched.

Defense barrister Breffni Gordon said his client conceded he had put his hands on Ryan but had not meant to cause him injury.

Morgan had told Irish Police: 'I grabbed him by the balls, I meant to grab his shorts or jersey. I didn’t mean to grab so hard. Then he had his hands on his hips and was making sore faces.'